I thought he had scored at the end. Great game though and Chile were very unlucky; I kind of wanted them to win... that said, it probably wouldn't have been the same without Brazil in the mix though. Come on Colombia!!!
That was a beauty wasn't it. He has been awesome since the first game (so glad I put him in dreamteam). As I type he's just scored again, great team goal!
I just got home and while I watched Brazil's game I thought Chile would win. Julio Cesar was the best player in the match. Hulk was also very good. Neymar didn't play what we expected from him. I don't know what people from abroad are talking about the ref but everyone here is saying that he didn't do a very good job.
In brazil vs chile? I haven't heard anyone talking about the ref in that game abroad... a win is a win though, and that was a classic game. It's a shame chile had to run into brazil in the round of 16. i was at their game vs spain. they are a great side & have very passionate fans. there are many teams in the round of 16 they could beat.
The ref should have given Brazil a penalty seems to be the opinion I've read. Also that the Hulk goal was correctly disallowed due to the ball hitting the upper arm (contrast the Hulk chest-down and the Rodriguez one for Colombia that evening). I think the ref had a slightly hard time of it too...quite a physical match to oversee. Two minutes in and, I forget who, but a hard Brazilian tackle came in and no yellow given...so the ref almost had to let a few other hard tackles / fouls off with just a warning. I think Neymar was lucky not to get a yellow (would have meant he would miss the QF I believe). Overall though, a classic match, a shame one team had to lose, would have been a great final (all the cliches ).
The USA vs Belgium match last night was an absolute belter, best of the tournament so far for me. The US boys gave everything they had and can hold their heads high.
Yeah, twas a fantastic match. Great spirit, great fair play, little to no diving, all good! The US team deserve all the plaudits they receive. Tbh I rated the entire last 16. Aside from Colombia v Uruguay which was (happily) quite one-sided, all the games were pretty tight (albeit the quality of a couple was lacking). Also all the group winners progressed to the quarters. Now, two whole days without a game. And on to the quarter finals. Brazil v Colombia - Brazil have not shone yet (imo), and I think will be found out now. It's great when a host team survives deep into a tournament, even more so given this is Brazil. But unless they seriously improve I see the end of the road for them. Or Colombia could choke of course. Head and heart say Colombia...for now. (Two days, a key injury or two and it all changes.) France v Germany - Frankly I'd like both teams to lose. Germany had such a great start seemingly...then everyone realised how poor Portugal were. France have been decent enough and seem to have put their constant in-fighting to one side. Head says 'I don't care', heart could never support either... Netherlands v Costa Rica - CR continue to surprise, but the Dutch look composed. Was a fantastic effort against a classy Mexican side. Head and heart say the Dutch. Argentina v Belgium - Tricky one to call imo. Belgium just don't give in, masters of the late goal this tournament. Argentina, lucky to still be in the mix imo. Head doesn't know, heart is for Belgium, no fucking question.
For me, semis will be Brazil v Germany and Netherlands v Argentina, followed by a Germany v Argentina final. I put a reasonable bet on Argentina to win at 7-1 a few months ago, so hopefully......
A Germany v Argentina final would be the worst form of footballing nightmare I can imagine. Oh, and 1-0 QF score, bloody Germany. Edit...Full time...First real downer of the tournament for me. Come on Colombia!
Brazil won today but I doubt it will win against Germany. Brazil won't have Thiago Silva and Neymar. Neymar's injury was a great blow to the team and to all brazilians. Anyway, at least we still have Sideshow Bob (David Luiz). If he plays like today we might have a bit of a chance of going to the final.
Yeah, harsh sounding injury indeed. Hope he makes a full recovery. However, I think you'll have (further) help from the ref come semi time. How many fouls were there in that QF? 54 in total, 31 courtesy of Brazil. A record for a World Cup match I believe. How many yellow cards were given? 2 for each side. Ridiculously low number. Was this a game before which most people assumed Brazil would try and kick the shit out Rodriguez? Yes it was (and they did). Have Brazil picked up a remarkably small amount of cards in their 5 games compared to the incredibly high foul rate? You bet! Hmmmmmm. Not a great day for the WC yesterday. Edit...To clarify 54 is a record for this WC. Edit 2...OK, that reads a little harsh. I just think Brazil have had a lot of very lenient refereeing decisions in their favour.
Luckily, we don't have to take your word for it. We can actually look at the numbers! Based on this: http://www.fifa.com/worldcup/statistics/teams/disciplinary.html , Brazil's ratio of cards to fouls is 0.104, the highest of any team still left in the tournament. For reference, Columbia's ratio after that game was a mere 0.054 (they had about the same number of fouls as Brazil, but half the cards!). Brazil has a lot of fouls, but they also have the most cards.
Oh well, my bad. It still FEELS like Brazil have had an easy ride ref wise. TOO easy. And I think my other points still stand. Ref made his bed and had to lie in it...although how that knee in the back to Neymar escaped a booking is beyond me. So it swung both ways, but should NEVER have got that far. Don't get me wrong, I do want Brazil to beat Germany, and Holland to beat Argentina, but that'll be tough for both teams. Personal stuff of nightmares final in prospect.....Noooooooooooo. Edit...Plus not all fouls are equal. The, shall I say, intensity, of lots of the Brazilian fouls...
